Judith K. Jones, MD, PhD, FISPE, age 79, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 after months of battling lung cancer. Dr. Jones was deeply respected by her family, friends, colleagues, and students; her passing is a tremendous loss to us all.
Judith was ISPE's president in 1992, received Honorary Lifetime Fellowship in 2017, and contributed many years of volunteer service to ISPE, most recently on our Finance Committee, helping to steer the growth of ISPE's financial reserves. She was much admired and respected by all in our community; she made enormous contributions to ISPE.
Those of us who had the opportunity to work for Dr. Jones are also mourning the absence of an accomplished scientist, strong businesswoman, and thoughtful mentor. She had a diligent work ethic and commitment to her employees, companies, clients, and a pioneering spirit for furthering medical products safety, drug utilization, and drug development.
Judith led an extraordinary career. She was the Founder, President, and CEO of The Degge Group, Ltd. (1988-2017); President of the Pharmaceutical Education and Research Institute, Inc.; and Executive Director and Primary Editor of DGI, LLC. Prior to that she received her medical training at Baylor College of Medicine, followed by clinical training, a fellowship in clinical pharmacology, and a PhD in developmental pharmacology at University of California at San Francisco. In 1978, she came to Washington, DC as Director of the FDA’s Division of Drug Experience (now Epidemiology) until 1984, and was then Special Assistant to the Director, Biometrics and Epidemiology through mid-1985.
Her knowledge lives on globally in her numerous scientific publications, the medical products she helped make safer, decades of students and interns that she taught and mentored, and her contributions to professional organizations (including ISPE, ISPOR, ASCPT, DIA, WHO CIOMS, USAN Council, and numerous others).
Among her proudest achievements was in 2009 when she joined forces with fellow Alexandrians Richard Moose and Ernie Lehmann to explore the idea of creating an organized community of volunteers to support older adults, helping them age safely and independently in their homes. As a result of her work, the nonprofit organization At Home in Alexandria (AHA) opened its doors in 2011. The model that Dr. Jones and others envisioned and put into place is known as the “village movement” and today there are over 200 village organizations similar to AHA across the nation.
Judith is survived by her husband, William C. Rogers, of Clifton, Virginia, a sister, Tobi Jones, of Woodland, California, and a sister, Patricia Huff, of Brunswick, Georgia.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to ISPE in her memory.
